One of my design projects, the Impossibly Huge WotC project, has flown out into the void — and returned! Yes, my project is turning into that lazy college kid, really, coming back during summer vacation, scrounging free food, free laundry, no rent. Damn slacker, off my lawn.

Anyway, today I discussed it with the editor and co-author, going over a rough storyboard. Technically, I've been off the project for almost two months, and it should be well into development and editing. Realistically, it looks like I'll be doing some of the development work on it, unpaid, involving encounter fixes, maps, rules tuning, and additional text.

I'm still not entirely clear why the developers aren't doing this work, but then the developer group was founded after I left the company. It's actual day-to-day functioning is opaque to me. Mind you, I'm not being snarky about the developers; their role is just one I never witnessed at TSR or WotC during my tenure.

So, on the one hand, extra work that I was *not* counting on, while also moving to the house (we closed today!) and traveling to the Midwest. Also, the news that there will be no in-house Hasbro playtest, alas.

On the other hand, a second chance to go back in and fix things that I wasn't that happy with the first time around. This is usually an editor's nightmare, but it's kind of unavoidable if they hand it back to me at this stage. I get to second-guess myself, and that's good.

In the long run, the project will stand a little taller after this second round. But I still feel this strange parental urge to kick it out of house.

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it should be well into development and editing. Realistically, it looks like I'll be doing some of the development work on it, unpaid, involving encounter fixes, maps, rules tuning, and additional text.

Welcome to the new cruelty.

I'm still not entirely clear why the developers aren't doing this work.

I had a similar experience recently. Mine came from a change the development team made that resulted in a bunch of my words becoming useless, so I had to make new words following the changes of the developers. I didn't mind that too much. What I hated was having to do the storyboard and outline for the book. Bleh. x_x

Traveling to Midwest? When? Email me off-folder and lemme know if there's any way I might get to introduce you and Shelly to Sarah and you introduce us to Heidi....before we come to test out your guest room in July, that is. ;)